Best Coinbase Alternatives For Buying Cryptocurrency

Looking for the best Coinbase alternatives to buy and sell cryptocurrency? You’ve come to the right place.

Stick with us as we discuss seven alternatives you can use to get Bitcoins and other altcoins you want to have in your portfolio.

But first, let’s take a good look at Coinbase.

If you are new to the crypto space, Coinbase is a US-based exchange where you can buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

In 2017, Coinbase became a household name for crypto enthusiasts in the US. Other than the US, Coinbase is also available in 31 countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Finland, Singapore, etc.

Right now, if you are in any one of these countries, the easiest way to buy Bitcoin is using Coinbase as you can use credit cards, debit cards, and also bank deposits.

The Need for Coinbase Alternatives

If Coinbase has grown so much over the last year, why are people looking for alternatives?

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why people need alternatives to Coinbase.

Coinbase is available only in 32 countries. If you are located in a nation that Coinbase doesn’t support you need to find another alternative to buy cryptocurrencies.

Though Coinbase has promised to expand to 168 countries, no such thing has happened till now.

Another reason is that Coinbase is beginning to act like Banks. You can see the centralization in their operation. They are no longer easily accessible, and these are concerns for both existing and new users.

One more reason is the customer service. Coinbase has grown over the short period, and we can understand that the demand is massive. But not having enough people to look after your customers is never a good idea.

Also, the long verification times don’t help either.

Now that we’ve got our reasons for looking into Coinbase alternatives, let’s discuss some options.

CEX

CEX is a UK-based bitcoin broker. It has been operating since 2013.

With CEX, you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies using your credit cards, debit cards, and also bank transfers.

The supported coins at the moment are

Bitcoin

Ethereum

Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Gold

Dash

Stellar

Ripple

Zcash

One of the most significant advantages with CEX is that there operate in 99% of the countries. They have a small restricted list which is excellent. They also make a reasonable effort to add new countries as well.

Since you will be using fiat for buying cryptocurrency, it is essential that you get verified with CEX. The verification process is simple and usually takes very little time.

How secure is CEX?

It is one of the most secure exchanges out there. CEX gives you the option to use two-factor authentication. This will protect your account even if someone phishes the username and password from you.

The fee structure on CEX is also pretty straightforward to understand. When you use your VISA or MasterCard, there is a flat fee of 3.5%+$0.25 for the transaction.

This is not that high as Coinbase also charges a similar fee when it comes to using your credit cards.

You can also trade your cryptocurrencies inside CEX. The fee structure for that is pretty simple as well.

The very fact that you can purchase Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies within a few minutes make CEX one of the best Coinbase alternatives.

Binance

Right now, you can’t use fiat currencies to purchase cryptocurrencies. You can only do crypto to crypto trading on Binance.

The good news is Binance is moving to Malta. This move could see Binance opening up fiat usage. There are more chances to allows Euro purchases as Malta is in Europe.

Ever since its launch, the exchange has grown like a beast. It is now the most preferred exchange for getting your hands on altcoins.

Binance supports more than 140 altcoins on its exchange. It comes with BTC, ETH, BNB, and USDT pairings as well.

The fees on Binance is one of the lowest we have seen across the board. They charge a fee of 0.1% for both buying and selling. You can, however, reduce this by 50% by using their native crypto, BNB, to pay the fees.

When it comes to security Binance is one notch above others. Even during the latest hacking attempt, they stopped it on time and made sure no funds were lost. They also caught some hacker funds and donated it to charity.

You can use 2FA to protect your account as well.

Binance also gives us clean mobile applications for on the go trading.

You can deposit your funds through bank transfer. At this moment, Kraken does not support credit and debit card purchases.

Kraken has a decent fee for making trades inside. They charge a fee ranging from 0% to 0.26% depending on the volume of trading you do.

Also, note that there are different tiers when it comes to account levels. Each tier has a different withdrawal limit. Verification can take a bit of time, but if you are patient, you will be rewarded.

Coinmama

Coinmama is a cryptocurrency exchange that operates in Slovakia. It was founded in 2013 by New Bit Ventures Limited who are based in Israel.

Coinmama is available in 217 countries which is a very big list. There are also available in 24 US states so it may not be the good option for people in the US as not all of them have equal opportunity here.

With Coinmama, you can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Cardano. And you can purchase using credit cards and debit cards.

Coinmama is not a trading platform. You will only be able to buy and sell the cryptocurrency you want but can’t trade it within the platform.

Since fiat is involved, there will be verification of identity. The process is straightforward and should not cost you a lot of time.

The fees are a bit high at Coinmama. They charge a fee of 6% for credit cards which is super high. But if Coinmama is the only way to get cryptocurrency in your country, then there is no other way to go about it.

BitPanda

BitPanda, formerly known as Coinimal, is a bitcoin broker that sells cryptocurrencies and concentrates mainly in the Euro region.

You can buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Dash, Ripple and Litecoin on BitPanda. The payment methods available are SOFORT, VISA, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, and SEPA.

There are different account levels within BitPanda. With only a verified email, you can’t buy any cryptocurrency, but you can sell 1000 EUR worth of cryptocurrencies per day.

With a verified phone number, you can both buy and sell cryptocurrencies. But the buying is restricted to 50 EUR per day which is pretty much useless.

With a verified ID, You can buy cryptocurrencies with credit cards with a limit of 350 EUR per day and 10000 EUR per month. However, with other payment methods, the limits are higher at 5000 EUR per day and 75000 EUR per month.

There is no information about fees on the website. But based on the amounts charged, there is a surcharge of 2.1% on the price of the cryptocurrency and also a credit card fee of 5% on the total amount.

If you think this is a lot you can use other deposit methods which have meager fees in comparison.

Gemini

Gemini was founded in 2015 by the Winklevoss twins. The exchange is based in New York and has the status of New York State Limited Liability Trust.

Gemini is fully compliant and deals with both individual and institute investors.

You can buy Bitcoin and Ethereum with fiat currency at the moment.

Deposits are made via bank transfer, and they are available for trading almost immediately. You can buy and sell the cryptocurrencies you want. But you won’t be able to withdraw the money before your bank deposit has been completed.

Gemini had a very low fee structure, but they have changed that recently. For trading, the maker and the taker fee ranges from 0% to 1% depending on the volume you trade. The more you trade, the less fee you pay. More information on fee here.

One good thing about Gemini is that they don’t charge you for deposits, even via bank transfers. You can also withdraw your funds up to 30 times a months without any fees.

Changelly

Changelly is an exchange where can both buy and exchange cryptocurrencies without having to go through any verification.

The exchange comes with a clean interface and allows you to convert your cryptos into another seamlessly. The process is very straightforward and can be done within a few minutes. There is no need for any verification as well.

You can use the widget below to exchange your cryptocurrencies.

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Once the transaction is complete, it can take some time to complete confirmation and to receive the funds in your wallet.

Changelly charges a fee of 0.5% which is not that bad since you are not required to do any verification.

Recently, Changelly introduced the option to purchase Bitcoin using credit cards. The credit card processing is done by Simplex who charges a small fee on top of the Bitcoin price.

You also have the option to open up an account to see your history as well.

If you want to buy Bitcoins with your credit card without going through any hassle, Changelly is an excellent Coinbase alternative.

Local Bitcoins

Local Bitcoins was started in 2012 in Finland and is a peer-to-peer marketplace for buying and selling Bitcoins.

Before the advent of exchanges, Local Bitcoins was the only way to get Bitcoins in a lot of countries. Even today, they have a good reputation and are used extensively.

The service here is an escrow service and will only release the funds if the trade goes as per agreement. Local Bitcoins has a number of features in place to make the process as straightforward as possible.

You can pay using a number of payment methods like Cash on delivery, Credit cards, PayPal, Bank transfer and many more.

For security, you can use two-factor authentication on your account. This additional PIN will prevent your account from being hacked by attackers.

What about the fees?

Local Bitcoins charges a low fee of 1% which is really good. But you should be aware that the rates are usually inflated for various reasons.

Bitcoin ATMs

Another alternative to Coinbase is Bitcoin ATM. If you are in a city that recognizes crypto, then you might be lucky to find one.

First, you have to enter your public wallet address and double-check it. Then you have to enter the fiat amount you are willing to spend, and the ATM will transfer the Bitcoins to your public wallet address.

Bitcoin ATMs are our last option because of the high fees that are involved. Some ATMs even charge up to 14% which is ridiculous in our opinion. Though the more you spend, the less fee you pay, it is still a lot more than what you would pay for an exchange like CEX or Coinmama.

These ATMs exist more as a novelty and carry no particular advantage over the other options mentioned above.

These are our Coinbase alternatives that are for Bitcoin and other crypto purchasing.

They are less centralized and have better customer service as well. With the growing demand in cryptocurrencies, these sites will be more useful than ever.

Is there any other site you know, and we missed it? We would be happy to hear about it from you. Please use the comments section below to let us know.